1444, Byzantium Resurrects

Chapter 171: Force is better than hard work

On the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the County of Annaba, the city of Annaba.

In a castle outside the city, the 39-year-old Count of Annaba, Nolant Barentucelli, was holding a dinner party.

The dinner was very sumptuous. After the guests had enjoyed the main meal, the maids and servants took away the plates and replaced them with desserts such as cheese, cake, and honey.

"Your Highness, Your Excellency the Grand Duke, Your Excellency the Marquis, are you satisfied with the meal?"

Nolant wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, wiping away the food residue from his stubble.

"Very satisfied, Lord Earl, thank you for your hospitality."

Justinian smiled at the Count.

"As long as you like it, if you have enough time, you can stay in Annaba for a few more days. My daughter is about your age..."

Earl Norlandt invited earnestly.

"We'll talk about this later. We're here for military duties."

Marquis Mikhail also put down his knife, picked up a cup of coffee and sipped it slowly.

"The main purpose of our trip is - Justinian, if you dare to drink another sip of wine, I will write to His Majesty and let him beat you again."

Justinian heard this and reluctantly put down his wine glass, picked up a piece of honey cake, put it into his mouth and chewed it vigorously.

"What's the matter?"

Nolant looked at the prince's appearance and couldn't help but smile.

"I believe you are also aware that not long ago, the House of Anjou launched a rebellion, causing unrest in the western Mediterranean."

"Have heard a little bit."

"Perhaps they knew that their overseas territories could not be preserved, so they sold Constantina and the surrounding towns to the Saracens in exchange for a large ransom and have already evacuated North Africa."

"The main purpose of our trip is to bring this city back under the control of the Holy Father."

Marquis Mikhail pointed to a map of North Africa carved on the wall.

"Constantina is located at the northern foot of the Atlas Mountains, southwest of Annaba and southeast of Bejaia. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers, with steep terrain, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"Fortunately, and precisely because of the special nature of this city, Constantina does not have a complete city wall. As long as we are willing to fight and consume them, they will not be able to hold on for long."

Prince Mikhail commented.

Nolant thought about it.

"I remember that the Anjou family began to liquidate their property in North Africa very early on, and large numbers of slaves were pulled to the north, passing right by my place."

"I'm afraid Constantina is weaker than you think."

"That's good. We don't have many troops on hand."

Prince Mikhail breathed a sigh of relief.

"The Second Guards Corps, two thousand vassal soldiers, plus the several hundred private soldiers brought by Archduke Thomas, that's all we have."

"If their force exceeds 3,000, it will be difficult for us to defeat them."

"Hey, don't we have a Slaves 1,000-man team under my command? Their combat effectiveness is stronger than the Desert Fox Legion under your command."

Justinian protested in dissatisfaction.

"Come on, Your Highness. They are guards specially assigned to you by His Majesty. The first word they learned was your name. They are yours from cradle to grave. I dare not give them orders casually."

"Humph, soldiers who are afraid to go to the battlefield are not good soldiers. I will lead them to achieve great things."

Justinian snorted angrily and picked up another piece of cake to eat.

"Your Highness the Prince has joined the army at such a young age. He will surely shine in the future."

"Almost ten years old. When I was ten, I was already standing guard on the Theodosian Wall."

Despite this, Marquis Mikhail still looked at his students with a smile.

"However, your uncle and I will still be in charge this time. You must stay in Annaba City and are not allowed to go to the front line."

Mikhail glared at Justinian sternly.

"Oh? So what are you going to do with this city?"

Nolant became interested.

"Humph, my good nephew is going to drive me to North Africa to guard the border for him."

Archduke Thomas said gruffly.

"I will be promoted from the Grand Duke of Achaea to the Grand Duke of Constantina, and the former Achaea region will be incorporated into the Morea region."

Archduke Thomas drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Nolan was a little embarrassed and didn't dare to respond.

Among the nobles present, except him, one was the emperor's eldest son and heir, one was the emperor's teacher and trusted minister, and one was the emperor's closest blood relative. They all spoke casually, so he dared not do so.

"Well, actually this place is not bad. At least there are a lot of people here, and there is a lot of land in the northern foothills. If we manage it well, it can also be passed down as a family business to our descendants."

"The situation in Italy is unstable right now. The pope in our family didn't leave any property before he was summoned by the Lord. I have moved my family here and don't want to get involved in their mess."

"Borgia, Orsini, Rovere... well, let them fight."

Nolant tried to smooth things over.

"Hahaha, well said. I've long been tired of staying in the Morea Peninsula. Isaac always shows off with his armored paladins and fleet, which makes me feel very uncomfortable. I might as well come here to fight."

Archduke Thomas also laughed.

"Then I wish you success. If you need anything, just let me know. I will do my best to assist you in your war."

"Cheers to the two emperors."

Everyone raised their glasses.

……

"I don't want to study! I don't want to write! I don't want to read!"

Inside the royal palace of Carthage, little Alexios' tearful protest pierced the tranquility of the afternoon.

"Then what do you want to do?"

Isaac calmed down and asked his second son in the gentlest tone possible.

“I just don’t want to write!”

"When your brother was your age, he could already write simple sentences."

Queen Leonor also came over and stroked her son's furry little head.

"Huh, can that be called writing?"

Seeing his mother coming, Alexios seemed to have found a backbone. He hid in Leonor's arms, looking at Isaac with an unconvinced look.

“Justinian didn’t learn the alphabet by heart until he was seven, and he only started writing Greek last year!”

"He was quite interested in Portuguese. He started to cram after returning from Castile. On his seventh birthday, he wrote his first letter in Portuguese, but it was not written to his uncle. Instead, he sent it to Toledo!"

"From then on, at the end of every month, I would sit under the olive tree, racking my brains to write in cursive, with a silly smile on my face, and I would spray perfume on the letters!"

"Oh? You discovered his little secret, aren't you afraid of being beaten by him?"

Isaac laughed too and pulled his ears.

"Hey, he often took his cousin Andreas out to drink secretly. I caught him several times. He didn't dare to do anything to me, and he had to share some of his pocket money with me!"

Alexius seemed to have discovered some great secret and loudly revealed his elder brother's private affairs.

"I don't want to learn calligraphy, that's for men of letters!"

"I want to be a knight! Just like sister Charlotte, wearing the shiniest armor, holding the sharpest sword, and holding the highest banner!"

Isaac tapped Alexios on the head and looked at Leonor with a strange expression.

"What's wrong? I didn't teach you that."

Leonor smoothed her hair unhappily.

"Okay, you said so yourself. I will change your education schedule. Starting tomorrow, you will go to Instructor Di Lin and learn martial arts from him."

"Your uncle Conte will be back soon. He is a real knight and once followed Jeanne d'Arc to fight against the English. When the time comes, I will ask him to guide you in your studies."

This time, Isaac chose to respect the child's personal hobby, put away the writing book, and ordered the maid to bring a dagger.

The dagger was plated with gold and inlaid with gems. The Palaiologos family crest on the hilt was carved from cold silver. It was gorgeous and complex, and immediately attracted the attention of young Alexios. "During my first sea expedition, I went through hardships and tribulations and brought back a lot of gold products from Guinea. Among them was a walking stick, which was a symbol of power of a tribal chief. It was of commemorative significance, and I was reluctant to sell it."

Isaac stroked the dagger, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes.

"When your brother was born, I invited the best Syrian craftsmen to forge two daggers with the finest Damascus steel. I dismantled the cane and carved the wooden core into two hilts. The gold and gems on them were used as decorations for the daggers."

"I gave one of them to your brother on his fifth birthday. He always keeps it with him to show his determination."

"But I haven't seen his dagger for a long time. I don't know where he put it."

Isaac said this, and suddenly he shouted loudly.

"Your Majesty!"

Alexius was startled and quickly knelt on one knee.

"I give you this dagger today. I hope you will wipe it carefully and remember the hardships your father went through."

“Always remember that difficulties and obstacles are the only way to wealth and glory.”

“I will definitely keep it in mind!”

Alexius was overjoyed and took the dagger from Isaac's hand and put it on his waist.

After seeing off his bouncing second son, Isaac and Leonor visited their eldest daughter Thessaloniki, who was still just learning to speak, and enjoyed a royal dinner. Just as they were about to take a rest, they were woken up from bed by the envoy of Prime Minister Isurte. They had no choice but to ride their horses as fast as they could to the Grand Administrative Palace in the city.

"What's the matter?"

Isaac interrupted Isurte's greeting unhappily and went straight to the point.

"Three things. If time wasn't urgent, I wouldn't have pulled you out of bed."

Iseult said quickly.

"First, the situation in Europe has changed. Mahmud Pasha led his troops to the north of the Adar River and approached the Kardzhali Military District."

"However, his main purpose is probably to tie down our forces rather than seize land."

"Oh? Why did you say that?"

Isaac took a sip of coffee and felt refreshed.

"Just a week ago, six princes of Karamanbey revolted one after another. Konya City changed hands. Karamanbey Ishak announced that he would fight against the rebels and assembled troops in Karaman City."

"Mehmed II led an army of 50,000 to the Karaman border to demonstrate for his nephews."

"What about the Turkmen? What do they say?"

Isult took out the return from Deputy Foreign Minister Anderson.

"The Aries king Uzon Hasan announced his support for Karaman's legitimate Bey Ishak, but he obviously did not want to directly confront Mehmed II's army."

"He led his army south and once again attacked Hasankeyf's territory."

"The true character of a tyrant, there is nothing to say."

Isaac commented.

"Request Mehmet to lead the Third Army of the Purple Guard to station in the city of Kardzhali, and leave the defense around the capital to Ibrahim."

Isurte wrote down the words on the paper.

"Where's Karaman? They keep asking us for reinforcements."

Isaac thought for a moment and sighed.

"How about this? You write a letter to Baron Julian and Advisor Ymir on Cyprus Island, asking them to transform the original Cyprus Guard into the Ninth Guards Corps, with Ymir as the Corps Commander and Julian as the Deputy Corps Commander."

"I have also thought of the flag and emblem. They will be the golden cypress tree of Cyprus, and the name will be 'Brass Guard'."

"After the legion was established, it immediately headed to the north coast of Cyprus, ready to go north to provide support at any time."

"If it is impossible, I will send warships to pick up the remaining troops of Prince Ishaq and save his life."

Isaac's originally good mood began to become a little irritable.

"Things with Karaman are always so bad. With their national strength, even the Ottoman Empire in its heyday could not have taken them down. Now, they are the first to cause chaos, allowing Mehmed II to take advantage of them for nothing."

"They chose the right time to start the uprising, hitting our weak spot."

"Please speed up the population exchange. I don't want to see Mehmed II oppress my Armenian people at will."

"Yes."

Iseult jotted it down again.

"Second, the Venetians have recovered from the plague, and the Venetian arsenal is stepping up its efforts to produce ships. The entire Grand Council is filled with revenge and has borrowed a large sum of money from the Florentine Bank for military supplies. I'm afraid they have ill intentions."

"It is only natural that there will be a naval battle between us sooner or later to determine the hegemony of the Mediterranean."

Isaac nodded, not surprised.

"Third, our spies in various places have observed that in recent years, envoys from France and Venice have frequently appeared in Bursa and Sofia. They may have reached some kind of private agreement with Mehmed II and Mahmud Pasha."

"I think this explains your confusion. The timing of their attack on us was too coincidental."

"First there were the changes in Italy, then there was Karaman's uprising and Venice's military expansion, followed by the military pressure from Mahmud Pasha and Mehmed II."

"This makes us suspect that our expansion in recent years has aroused the vigilance of neighboring powers. They are unwilling to sit back and watch us continue to grow, and are doing everything they can to block and suppress us."

Isaac stood up and paced around the large room, his brow furrowed.

Obviously, the prime minister's suspicion was correct. A premeditated storm was coming towards the reborn Eastern Roman Empire.

"I will fight back. They are powerful, but I am not a pushover."

"From being a poor prince to being the emperor across three continents, I have never relied on charity and mercy from outsiders."

"It's fire and lead, iron and blood."

Isaac raised his head and stared at the map of the Mediterranean carved on the wall, his eyes gradually becoming bloodshot.

"From today on, all fleets will enter a wartime state, all shipyards will be running at full capacity, all sealed ships will be launched one after another, and all sailors and soldiers will cancel their leave and return to the combat sequence as quickly as possible."

"Administrative officials in coastal towns of the empire began to count fishing boats and fishermen from all over the country, ready to recruit them at any time."

"The mobilization on land is temporarily suspended, but the militia teams in various places are required to patrol the coast and make sure that the Venetians cannot sneak across successfully."

"Land production in all places remains the same. The battlefield of this war is not on land, but in the vast ocean."

Isaac clenched his fists and pounded them on the table.

"Since the French are unkind, don't blame us for being unjust."

"Send a letter of accusation to the Vatican, reporting the collusion between the French, Venetians and pagans. Although there will probably be no response, it can also deal a blow to the enemy in terms of reputation."

"It will take time for the Venetians to reorganize their navy. Let's take this opportunity to deal with the French first and make them feel terrified!"

"Inform Captain Fidel, Vice Captain Henry, and Commander Giovanni that from now on, all bans on naval attacks are lifted and an unlimited attack war is launched."

"From now on, any ship flying the enemy's flag on the sea, whether it is a merchant ship, a fishing boat or a warship, will be attacked, regardless of whether the people on board are civilians, merchants or princes and grandchildren of the emperor."

"The enemy flags here include, but are not limited to, the Kingdom of France, the County of Toulouse, the Duchy of Savoy, the County of Provence, and all their subordinate vassals."

"From now on, all fleets waiting to sail in North African ports will assemble and set sail, heading north."

"Tell all commanders that within three months, I want to see everything from the Pyrenees Mountains to the west of Genoa, from the Gulf of Lion to the Ligurian coast, turned into a scorched earth!"

Isaac ordered sharply.

"I will distribute the looted wealth and population fairly, inject them into major shipyards, and transform them into war potential as soon as possible."

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Iseult said loudly.

……

On February 1460, 2, due to the serious collusion between the French and the pagans, Isaac III, the co-ruling emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, signed the Naval Attack Act in Carthage, which would use all ships to launch an unlimited attack war against France and its allies until King Charles VII of France evacuated Genoa.

The next day, groups of warships and pirate ships responded and set sail from various military ports and pirate ports in North Africa, rushing towards the northwest Mediterranean, attacking and robbing along the way.

On March 1460, 3, the marines led by Commander Giovanni Giustitiani landed in a small fishing village near the port of Toulon and destroyed the village. They then broke into several villages along the coast and looted countless food and people.

From then on, the two sides fell out and the War of the Neapolitan Succession entered its second phase.

Isaac knew very well that the pirates under his command did not care about morality and humanity at all. They had only one creed.

Force is better than hard work!
(End of this chapter)